Posts by Perry
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29Stephen Lett looks like a crazed maniac in the March JW broadcast
by jambon1 inare people taking this man seriously?
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he looks genuinely mentally ill. .
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28
Part of Growing Up - Saying Goodbye to Invisible Friends?
by doubtfull1799 ini don’t remember having any invisible friends when i was a really little boy, i don’t know if such a thing actually exists, i’ve only ever seen it in movies?
of course it might have looked to others like i was talking to someone on occasions, but i’m sure it would have just been me talking to myself.
the thing is though, i got introduced to an invisible friend in my pre-teens, and i kept the relationship going well into adulthood.
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Perry
Good question!
Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.
As JW's, we did not believe God, but stubbornly clung to our families and man-made (WT) idols instead of believing God.
Abraham on the other hand left his family and his fathers' idols and believed that God had a plan for him when he was asked to separate himself from both of those and go to a different land.
It makes no difference as to the historical timing of Jesus sacrifice for the payment of the death penalty on each of our behalf, because without believing God, we wont accept it.
Had Abraham been alive after Jesus death, he would have believed God when he told him to "eat" and "drink" for the forgiveness of sins.
We all here disbelieved God in regards to his instructions concerning the forgiveness of our sins and refused the New Covenant, and hence could not be friends with God.
Belief is a prerequisite for friendship/obedience.
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12
Idea and system of belief
by S K Ditta inby way of a general question: can a system of belief outlive the disintegration of its core ideas?
how and why??.
urge you to reflect, and post freely.. your thoughts are appreciated without bias..
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Perry
Some people state in their corporate bylaws or articles of incorporation, that if and when certain core ideals of the association are no longer adhered to, that the organization should be disbanded.
Otherwise, the system outlives it purpose.
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28
Part of Growing Up - Saying Goodbye to Invisible Friends?
by doubtfull1799 ini don’t remember having any invisible friends when i was a really little boy, i don’t know if such a thing actually exists, i’ve only ever seen it in movies?
of course it might have looked to others like i was talking to someone on occasions, but i’m sure it would have just been me talking to myself.
the thing is though, i got introduced to an invisible friend in my pre-teens, and i kept the relationship going well into adulthood.
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Perry
If you think that you had an imaginary friendship with God as a JW, you are right. .
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
Outside of the New Covenant (the one we were denied access to) there is no friendship with God, real or imagined.
he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink it, all of you;
For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.- Mt 25:26 & 27
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22
A major misadventure!
by Bungi Bill inhi, everyone.. i haven't posted here much in quite a while, but having just been laid low by injury, i'll likely be a frequent visitor for some time to come!.
two weeks ago, i was involved in a workplace accident that left me with my lower l.h.
leg fractured in three places (the tibia and fibular both broken clean through, plus another crack in the "neck" of the fibular for good measure!
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Perry
Oh dear! Well, looking forward to your contributions here.
Maybe time to watch Bob Ross episodes on Netflix and do those paintings many always wanted to do?
Speedy healing!
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11
Scriptures that now have such a different meaning?!
by stuckinarut2 init struck me that so many of the scriptures that the society uses to condemn others, can actually apply to them!.
when we read them without the application that the society enforces, they can make you have that "ah-ha!
" moment.... for instance, how about:.
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Perry
As a kid, I remember a lot of porch signs that read NO PEDDLERS.
"for we are not peddlers of the word of God as many men are"
There: That should clear up any confusion. Says right there that we are not like those other guys.
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102
Any atheists here? Have you come to terms with your new reality?
by kpop inalone, without my safety net of "god" being there to remember me when i die.
after much consideration, examining science, history and using logic, i have come to the conclusion that there is no "god" at least certainly no loving, personal "god.
" shortly before my final conclusion was reached, i read an excerpt from an expression attributed to marcus aurelius, .
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Perry
The dead experience nothing therefore they don't lose anything. Death doesn't harm the dead.
That is what the WT taught us. But it is not biblical.
Rev. 6 - I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
Clearly death doesn't mean annihilation of consciousness like the WT teaches. From the above verse, you can deduce that souls have their original identity (mind), have emotion, & memories.
The definition of death isn't non-existence. It means that the soul and body are separated when the body "sleeps" or stops functioning. That is the biblical definition of death.
The greatest hope of atheists, which they have no empirical data to support: is that when they die, their consciousness will stop. It is a vain, unfounded hope.
Unfortunately, they fail to realize that this was never part of the original design. We were created in the image of an eternal God, that we might fellowship with him forever.
Without Jesus, they will experience eternal separation from God, their second greatest wish.... that is until they actually get what they want. But, then it is too late. Eternal, conscious loneliness (outer darkness.) And, that is a best case scenario. Other scriptures suggest much worse, forever.
Can you definitively prove that:
There is the bible, there are millions of NDE and Terminal Lucidity cases that suggest this. And, I have personal experience that leaves no doubt for me that the soul absolutely can function without the body.
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102
Any atheists here? Have you come to terms with your new reality?
by kpop inalone, without my safety net of "god" being there to remember me when i die.
after much consideration, examining science, history and using logic, i have come to the conclusion that there is no "god" at least certainly no loving, personal "god.
" shortly before my final conclusion was reached, i read an excerpt from an expression attributed to marcus aurelius, .
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Perry
kpop,
Are you sure that when you die - nothing?
After studying this topic for many years, I am convinced that the greatest threat to my well-being isn't death, cults, atheists, political parties, or taxes etc. The greatest threat to me is: unending consciousness after death.
Imagine eternity, alone, bored, separated from anything that might be considered "good". God is good. No heat, no laughter, no human touch, no cool water, no art, no beauty, no love; just barren nothingness... experiencing only yourself for eternity.
My mother recently died. Because I am so brazen as to enter into Christian belief apart from the Watchtower, my father and elder brothers didn't even call me while she was in hospice. (Previously, this wasn't a problem when one needed to borrow some money)
When I found out a month later, by only the sheer power of the Holy Spirit was I able to calmly sit down with my father and get the details of what happened....without so much as feeling the slightest bit of anger with him. (plenty of anger at other times, that's for sure).
Because of this, I was able to hear the bone-chilling story of my mother's demise. My mother's soul was in deep distress before her passing. The doctors had her drugged up with double the amount necessary to knock someone out. Yet, she would "break out" of her listlessness at times and scream out.. "I don't wan't to die!"
She would "break through" at other times and yell out other fears shortly before her death. She was experiencing what is know as "terminal lucidity". It is quite common for patients to be completely coherent shortly before death.... even if their brain has been destroyed from Alzheimers, cancer and the like.
How can someone be lucid when their brain is all eaten up with cancer, Alzheimer etc? This is powerful evidence of the existence of the soul (mind) that survives the demise of the body.
This is consistent with what the bible says. We were made in the image of an eternal God. So, in order for us to enjoy him forever, the soul is eternal.... even in the case of the body being destroyed.
Just do a search on - TERMINAL LUCIDITY
You'll find all kinds of data on this.
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496
This is What I Would Need in Order to Believe
by cofty insometimes theists challenge atheists about what evidence would be required before they would believe.
various unlikely scenarios are offered in reply.
i have taken the bait myself in the past.. i think the correct answer is much more ordinary.
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Perry
I distinctly remember where I was sitting when I became self aware that atheists don't exist.
When I left the Watchtower, I wrote off anything of a spiritual / religious nature. I felt it was my logical duty. Self-preservation was a noble endeavor I reasoned. Atheist/Agnosticism was my attempt at "not being something", and I was initially comfortable with settling for that.
Then, comes my atheist philosophy professor. I thought, finally I'll get to learn some real logic for a change instead of all this religious B. S.
I was shocked when after we had learned the basics of a logical argument, that he spent the rest of the semester bashing Christianity. In order to show how illogical Christianity was, he first had to explain some of academic Christians basic arguments. He introduced me to Tozer, C.S. Lewis and others.
This was mind-blowing to me that he was so serious about such a monumental waste of time. While the arguments were good, that was not what prompted me to pop the hood of Christianity again for another look. It was his incessant critique of Christianity that piqued my interest. I thought, Really? This is what higher education is doing.
I was ready for the meat, and I was getting empty served vegetable plates. Reluctantly, I had to plow through the arguments to get a good grade. And then boom! I realized that the assumptions that my professor had were infinitely far greater hoops to jump through than the Christian had. I then realized there was no escape from reason.
I guess if God can preach his message to a hard headed prophet through a talking ass, he had no problem witnessing to me through my atheist college professor. I am eternally grateful to him for his obsessiveness.
Here's a nice read for those new to thinking outside the Watchtower box.
The source appears to be from a Catholic website, and while I think the Catholic brand has some serious doctrinal problems, I give credit where credit is due. Other non catholic sources are here, no particular order.
- Norm Geisler: normangeisler.net.
- William Lane Craig: Reasonable Faith.org
- Ravi Zacharias: RZIM.org
- John Lennox: John Lennox.org
- Greg Koukl: STR.org
- J. Warner Wallace: ColdCaseChristianity.com
- Paul Copan: PaulCopan.com
- Ed Feser: http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/
- Lee Strobel: Lee Strobel.com
- Josh McDowell: Josh.org
- Discovery Institute (Dembski, Meyer, Richards, Luskin, Wells): www.Discovery.org
- C.S. Lewis: CSLewis.org
- Gary Habermas: GaryHabermas.com
- Timothy McGrew: http://historicalapologetics.org/
- Dr. Michael Brown: AskDrBRown.org
- Richard Howe: Richardghowe.com
- Tim Keller: TimothyKeller.com
- J. Budziszewski: Undergroundthomist.org
- Hank Hanegraaff: Equip.org
- Hugh Ross: Reasons.org
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21
Restless Days and Nights
by compound complex init is a bad time to be awake;.
i see things i do not wish to see.. i have feelings i do not wish to feel.. if i could return to sleep, the deception.
of sweet slumber would assure that even a. nightmare might offer an escape, escape from.
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Perry
Jeremiah 31:26 "At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me."
Psalm 127:2 "It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep."
Proverbs 3:24 "When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet."